Bethesda might have finally rescued Fallout 76, as a new update for the online RPG game takes away one of its most frustrating issues and balancing problems, making it easier for newer players to actually compete in PvP, and get the benefit from quests and challenges. Nevertheless, in typical style, Bethesda’s update also introduces a new bug – if you log into Fallout 76 right now, you might find that the ammo for one of your guns has vanished, or that you’re suddenly unable to move.
Let’s do the good news first, because – playful needling of Bethesda aside; we love them really – the changes coming to Fallout 76 far outweigh the effects of the new glitch.
In the latest update, which launched January 24, Bethesda has removed all Fallout 76 hacked and legacy weapons. Essentially, the RPG has faced a balancing issue. Since its launch in 2019, various legendary weapons complete with modifications and damage buffs have been temporarily added and then later removed – if you were playing back when the explosive-damage Flamer was available in the game, and you picked one up, you get to keep it, but subsequent updates remove it from the game world, making it unobtainable for newer players.
These, in effect, are the legacy weapons – weapons that only some players, who have been keeping up with Fallout 76 throughout its lifetime, have access to, but have since been removed and therefore cannot be claimed by newer players.
It means a portion of Fallout 76’s player base has more powerful gear than everyone else. If you want to try the game out, and the first time you attempt PvP you’re instantly blown to pieces by someone’s legacy Fatman, you might want to just give up. Alternatively, if you want to enjoy Fallout 76’s co-operative events, having players who can obliterate even the hardest enemies in seconds thanks to legacy weapons might not be all that fun.
But now legacy weapons – and hacked weapons, which are not as common, and have always been frowned upon by the Fallout 76 community – have been removed.
“We are implementing a system that will remove illegal mods attached to weapons that cannot be obtained in-game,” Bethesda says. “Most players will not notice any change to their existing weapons, however, players who are in possession of a weapon with a mod that cannot be equipped naturally to the weapon may notice a damage decrease to the weapon, and the mod will no longer exist.”
Fallout 76 fans have been positive about the removal of legacy weapons, saying it may convince them to try the Bethesda RPG game again. “Loads of folks have walked away because of legacies,” one writes. “It is very likely that we will see an influx of old players returning who had walked away because legacies made their enjoyment of the game less.” “I’m coming back,” another says. “New content, no legacies, sounds like a good fun time.”
“Today is one update that as far as I’m concerned can take as long as it needs,” a third fan writes. “I’m looking forward to seeing real teams fight now… and not wiping out the event in seconds.”
Nevertheless, the latest update seems to have added a new bug to Fallout 76, whereby players who have power armour that uses a weight-reduction ability are logging on to find that that ability no longer works. This means their equipment load has suddenly become too great for them to properly move.
Other players, who use the plasma gatling gun, have encountered a glitch whereby the ammo counter reads ‘500,’ but even when the gun is fully loaded, it only fires 17 shots before running dry, making the weapon more or less useless. Bethesda says it is “investigating reports” of these issues and will post updates when they are resolved.
If you’re getting back into Fallout 76 but also want to know when the next Bethesda apocalypse will arrive, check out everything we know about the Fallout 5 release date. You might also want to try some of the best Fallout 4 mods, or maybe some of the other best games like Fallout on PC. Of course, the Fallout games on our list of the best apocalypse games, so if you like them, then there may be something else on there for you.